Ulster County sales tax bill OK'd just in time

KINGSTON — An Ulster County sheriff's SUV raced down Broadway Thursday night, red and blue lights flashing, trying to get to the post office before it closed its doors at 7 p.m.

James Nani

KINGSTON — An Ulster County sheriff's SUV raced down Broadway Thursday night, red and blue lights flashing, trying to get to the post office before it closed its doors at 7 p.m.

Inside the vehicle was Ulster County Legislature Deputy Clerk Fawn Tantillo, grasping tight to a document key to $22 million in potential sales tax revenue to the county. She arrived, with repor and cameras following.

It was just in time: As she left the post office, holding the certified receipt she needed, they locked the doors behind her.

The Ulster County Legislature approved a resolution Thursday night, 16-0, allowing it to again collect 1 percent more in sales tax, starting Feb. 1. The approved resolution needed to be mailed out to Albany by the Thursday deadline in order to avoid cuts to be made to several Ulster County services that were to start on Feb. 1, as outlined by Ulster County Executive Mike Hein's 2014 budget.

It was the latest, but perhaps not last, chapter of a political saga that began eight months ago. And it was close.

A tense county Legislature had to wait until 6:45 p.m. to officially get confirmation from Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office that the bill was signed and put into law. It was then quickly signed by Hein, a Democrat. The state Senate passed the bill Thursday afternoon, 55-4.

The sales tax revenue is worth an estimated $22.5 million a year to the county; $3 million to the City of Kingston; and $790,711 to be shared by local towns.

Here's a brief primer on the sales tax row:

In June, state Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, essentially caused a logjam in the legislative process in Albany by entering his own bills that tied the renewal of the 1 percent extra in sales tax to picking up Safety Net, also known as welfare, costs. Cahill was looking to force a negotiation with Hein to pick up the costs.

To collect the extra sales tax, counties need state approval.

The no-strings bills clashed with bills that didn't have conditions; state legislators left Albany without taking up either, and the impasse began.

Cahill says he entered the bills to help localities by making sure the costs of programs, like welfare, would be taken over by Ulster County. Hein disputes that vehemently, saying Cahill did it to bully local government and the county always meant to take over the cost. On top of the revenue loss, when it came time for Hein to present his 2014 budget, he included provisions that made drastic cuts into areas such as the Sheriff's Office and county contracts, if they didn't regain the tax by Feb. 1. It seems that has been avoided.

But either way, in December and January, Ulster County wasn't allowed to collect the extra sales revenue. On average, that's about $1.9 million a month.

Cahill and Hein didn't let up steam in blaming each other for the impasse.

"In addition to the County of Ulster, which lost millions of dollars, the City of Kingston was also a casualty of the 'Cahill Crisis,' as the hundreds of thousands of dollars of Safety Net relief we provided to them in 2013 was almost entirely wiped away by the loss of sales tax revenue at the hands of Kevin Cahill," Hein said.

Cahill didn't hold back either.

"The louder Hein protests, the more obvious it is becoming that he is simply covering up his apparent incompetence that made Ulster's one of the most expensive Safety Net programs in the entire state."

With the tax back on the books, Hein's office says there are still flaws with the bill that may need to be addressed. Cahill said his bill is "flawless."

jnani@th-record.com

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